Having not blogged for a while, I see fit my return given the issuance of the not guilty verdict by the jury of the George Zimmerman case and the birth of the Royal Baby who is male with a high apparent possibility of being called George.
First I will go over the reactions to the verdict. Outrage, yet expectancy ruled the day as George Zimmerman was set free from manslaughter charges for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. His plea of self-defence was accepted as not guilty because the jury felt that 'the prosecution did not sustain its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt' [Howard University Law Response, Howard Law Student Leaders Response]. Demonstrations or protests, whichever way you may call it, occurred last week into major protests on Saturday, July 20 in the major cities of the United States. Even Beyonce and Jay-Z were part of the protests along with Al Sharpton. Attorney General Eric Holder has apparently promised that the investigation continues and it was reported that there may be civil rights charges brought up against Zimmerman. Whatever the conclusion it is clear that both parents, mother Sybrina Fulton and father Tracy Martin want to keep the case in the public eye. Also upcoming on July 26, 2013 is the movie Fruitvale Station about the killing of Oscar Grant, a 22-year old black guy in the Bay-area in the United States during the early hours of New Year's Day by local police [Wiki, IMDB].
William and Catherine have been in the public eye as a couple for about six or so years. They married in a televised wedding on April 29, 2011. Today, July 22, 2013 they have had a son, yet unnamed, but the fanfare around the birth has been massive. According to reports from the Guardian, the boy was born at 4:24 pm and weighed 8 lbs 6 oz at St. Mary's Hospital in London in the Lindo Wing . The baby will be third in line to the throne after grandpa Charles and father William. There was much talk about the law having been changed or possibly changed so that a girl being born would ascend to the throne if she was the first born, and not have to be passed over for the throne by any boy who would later be born. There was also a break away from tradition again where in the past the Royal Baby was given birth to in Buckingham Palace. With the birth of William and now the birth of his son both in the Lindo Wing, it looks like the Royals have changed that tradition. Had a girl been born a couple of things would have happened. The royal line would have been Female-Male-Male-Female meaning that Queen Elizabeth could be Queen or stop being Queen knowing that another King was on the way. It makes it that much more unique Elizabeth II's rise to be Queen. Secondly, it would have meant that the male heirs would have been under a Queen and to their knowledge succeeded ultimately by a Queen. The pomp and circumstance surrounding the delivery of the birth note to Buckingham palace to the Queen first and then being placed on a easel to announce the birth along with celebratory town criers made it an occasion in history. The Prime Minister David Cameron congratulating the new parents was an added touch in a tradition-filled day [The Guardian Royal Baby Blog].
